Toyota are celebrating the historic landmark of 25 years producing cars right here in Derbyshire.
Carina E
It all started on 16 December 1992, when the very first vehicle rolled of the production line in Burnaston Derbyshire – just 17 miles by car from our long-established Ilkeston Toyota dealership. Powered by a 1.6-litre engine that was made at the Deeside engine plant in North Wales. In the below photo you can see Dr Shoichiro Toyoda (left), Toyota’s Chairman at the time, and all 1,143 members of staff.
Avensis
Introduced in 1997, the Avensis was a giant leap forward from the simple but well-engineered Carina E, with an advanced range of VVT-i engines that were extremely economical and reliable. Corolla hatchbacks were also briefly built at the plant until 2007.
Auris
In 2007 the Corolla made way for an all-new Toyota model, the Auris hatchback, which is made exclusively at the Burnaston plant and exported all over the world – even back to Japan, such is the level of build quality. Production of the Auris Hybrid began in 2010.
Innovation & Evolution
Since the initial £840 million outlay in getting the Burnaston factory up and running, Toyota have invested a total of £2.5 billion in the facility which became the first manufacturing company outside of Japan entrusted with the responsibility of manufacturing hybrid vehicles.
Burnaston Facts
- The site takes up a massive 580 acres
- It is one of only a handful of sites to achieve zero waste to landfill and zero incineration
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK Employs over 3,000 people (combined with Deeside engine plant)
- Includes a site of biological importance, home to a diverse range of plant, animal and bird life
- An array of 16,800 solar panels (one of the largest in the UK) provides 5% of the total electricity consumed on site
- There is an on-site test track which ensures customers receive the highest quality vehicles
[youtube link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBn8fZfe2S4″ width=”560″ height=”315″]
